KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Remarkable (Grady POV)

Grady cleaned the ointment off his hands and looked toward the house. Feeling wary, he finally said, "well, come on, Edaline's probably waiting."

With that, he led them inside right as Edaline walked into the living room. She took one look at Grady and frowned at him. "You're covered in dinosaur fluff!" Then she looked at Alden. "I'm sorry, I told him to be presentable."

Alden laughed. "I've yet to see someone ride a T. rex without picking up a few feathers."

"You've never seen Edaline in action," Grady told Alden with a smile.

Awkwardness hung heavy in the air, and Grady was grateful that Alden was still there to act as a buffer while he ran upstairs to get cleaned up.

When he came back downstairs a few minutes later, they were in the kitchen having tea and mallowmelt—which Sophie seemed to like very much.

But she kept doing little things, small reminders that she was not used to being around elves.

Like the way she jumped and scooted as far away as she could when Edaline conjured her a bottle of lushberry juice.

It was actually...very endearing.

Grady couldn't help but laugh. "Guess you've never seen a Conjurer in action before."

"How?" Sophie whispered.

Edaline smiled at her.

And it was a bright, genuine smile that lit up her whole beautiful face.

It had been way too long since Grady had seen such an easy smile on his wife's lovely face.

He watched them interact as his heart swelled, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.

Until Sophie asked about his ability. He felt the smile slide off his face and simply told her he couldn't do anything as cool as conjuring.

No need to frighten the poor girl. Plus he didn't relish talking about his ability—or even using it, for that matter.

Grady watched the smile fade from Edaline's face, too, when she realized she'd need to take Sophie to Slurps and Burps the next day for some more elixirs.

They knew taking Sophie in would mean starting to reintegrate into society, but it was still a daunting prospect.

Juline or Kesler usually just brought them any elixirs they needed.

But it was time to step back into the world. For Sophie's sake.

They enjoyed a few more minutes of conversation before Alden had to leave--and then the awkward silence was almost deafening.

We can do this.

She needs us.

They showed Sophie to her new room so she could drop off her belongings before showing her the rest of the house.

"This is really all mine?" she asked in blank surprise.

Edaline bit her lip. Grady knew she was worried about converting the Reception Hall and keeping Sophie from Jolie's room. But Sophie didn't even know about Jolie. "I hope it's okay," Edaline said uncertainly.

"It's awesome," Sophie said, almost sounding happy.

Grady smiled to himself as she set her small backpack on her bed, but clung to her stuffed animal as she walked back toward them. They gave her a tour of the rest of the house, making sure she knew which bedroom was theirs in case she needed them.

But they completely avoided Jolie's room, pretending it merely didn't exist.

Someday, she'd have to know about Jolie, but they'd had a silent agreement not to tell her until they had to.

They just didn't want to have to discuss it yet--and Sophie didn't need to bear the burden of feeling like she was living in Jolie's shadow.

But not talking about Jolie was even harder than talking about her.

All the things they were not saying--paired with how unused they now were to talking to someone apart from each other--made for an awkward dinner.

But that would get better as they got used to each other. Grady had to believe that.

It was uncomfortable, but something about Sophie...she was just precious. That much was obvious.

After dinner, they decided to let her go to her room alone to unpack--and to give her the time she needed to succumb to the emotions they suspected she was fighting.

Sure enough, when they crept upstairs to check on her a little while later, they could hear the soft sound of crying.

This poor girl, Grady thought, feeling a familiar sorrow in his heart. He placed his hand softly on the door, wishing he could go in and comfort her, but afraid to do so.

He looked at Edaline and saw tears shining in her eyes. She smiled vaguely at him and reached for his hand as she rested her head quietly against the wall, listening.

They stood there for a few minutes, Sophie's unseen companions in her grief.

They didn't speak until they'd gone back to their room and climbed into bed.

"So...what do you think?" Grady asked, lying on his side, facing Edaline.

She mirrored his action and reached for his hand. "I think...she's absolutely darling."

Grady smiled. "Yes, she is. Especially after what Alden told us--about the way she was so worried about the pain her loss would cause her family. How willing she was to erase herself from their minds. That she would add to her pain in order to spare them that pain..." Grady shook his head in disbelief. "What a remarkable child."

"She is," Edaline agreed at once. "But...I don't know," she added in a whisper. "Can we help her? Can we be enough for her? She needs love, needs someone to hold her and guide her through this. We heard her crying just now, and neither of us found the strength to go in and comfort her."

"I know. But we only just met. It'll get better—for her and for us. Plus...she's grieving her human family, Eda. We could go back up there right now and wrap our arms around her, but...would it help? I'm not sure it would. Not yet. It's not our arms she wants around her. She wants the family she'll—" Grady's voice cracked and he had to take a deep breath before continuing—"she'll never get to see again. And she doesn't know us well enough yet to be comfortable grieving like this in front of us. She'd probably feel like she had to be brave, when allowing herself to feel what she's feeling is very important right now."

"I suppose. But even so...we both know that's not the only reason we didn't go in there."

Grady nodded. "I know. We need more time. But so does she. We'll grow into this together, us and her."

"I hope so. I just couldn't bear the thought of saying no when Alden asked. A part of me has always regretted not adopting Wylie after Cyrah's accident."

"I know," Grady whispered. "But Tiergan has been an excellent father. I'm not sure we would have done half as well as he has."

"You're right, of course," Edaline told him. "But it worries me that someone else might be better suited to raise Sophie than we will be."

"We'll do our best for her. And don't you think Jolie would want that? If she knew?"

Edaline's eyes filled with tears. "Yes. Jolie would've loved the idea of a new little sister--especially one so new to our world. She'd have filled Sophie's head with all kinds of ideas. Between her and Juline..." she smiled in spite of herself.

Grady chuckled. "You're right." He pulled their clasped hands toward his face, kissed the back of her hand and whispered, "I wish things were different. But Sophie needs us now. We can do this. One day at a time."

Edaline nodded. "One day at a time," she agreed quietly. "I love you. I'm so thankful I have you. Thankful I don't have to go through any of this alone."

He leaned in and kissed her, letting go of her hand so he could run his fingers through her hair. "I love you too, Eda," he whispered when they broke apart. "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day."